Authors:

Abstract

Preparing a workforce that can attain the health objectives of a country is one of the formidable challenges faced by a health system. Such a workforce must have reasonable balance in terms of numbers, diversity and competencies. Achieving this requires a thorough knowledge of the driving forces and challenges that shape health and education systems as well as labour markets. This knowledge can be used to guide policies and actions related to training and recruitment.

Understanding the dynamics of any workforce requires focus on when people enter, the period of their lives when they are part of the workforce, and the point at which they exit from it. This paper is an effort to understand the dynamics in relation to just one category of the health workforce in Sri Lanka: MBBS qualified doctors who are generally referred to as 'physicians' in the health workforce literature. Other categories of medical practitioners, such as Assistant and Registered Medical Practitioners, and non-Western medical practitioners, are not considered here.    

Key words: physicians, medical workforce

doi: 10.4038/cmj.v53.i3.249

Ceylon Medical Journal Vol. 53, No. 3, September 2008 pp.93-98

Keywords: physicians, medical workforce